Hello Space Lovers!
We have just started the countdown to your arrival in Oeiras. The staff has gathered here early to fine-tune the last details to welcome the International Space University (ISU) 2022 participants and we are looking forward to it! The first day here was truly a blast! We welcomed each other and counted at least TWENTY-ONE nationalities working together to make this the best Space Studies Program (SSP22) yet! This diversity of cultures will grow even more wonderful when all the THIRTY-SEVEN nationalities represented by the participants come together and the fun starts.
Our first impressions of the Smart Studios, which will be your home for the next weeks, were positive. The facilities are genuinely nice and you can find all you need here: from laundry and gym all the way to the rooftop chillout area. Make yourself at home and enjoy your future neighbors, there is a good chance some of them will be your friends for life!
Back to preparations, we had a campus tour and made sure that you all will be able to assist you in case you get lost. We are glad to say that Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) campus provided us with lovely facilities for the 9 weeks of the program! SSP activities were discussed, materials were placed, plans were put in motion and hard preparation work took place. We are putting everything into its place for you to have a wonderful experience. We are delighted to do all unboxing of cool stuff that you get to use during your program.
The team had the opportunity to explore the local cuisine and we are glad to report that the Portuguese food is amazing. We also found an amazing Japanese and another Italian place, so we are sure that everybody will find something they like. For free time, it is so good that we are at an amazing place, merely fifteen minutes of a leisurely stroll, from the beach! Enjoy the summer both learning and spending an enjoyable time in a beautiful place with nice weather.
So, happy to see you here soon! We are looking forward to spending our summer together making the best SSP ever!
Maria Cecilia Pereira, Teaching Associate
Ales Nohel, Teaching Associate